45th annual chicano park day

took the train down to san diego this weekend. then the red trolley thing down to barrio logan. annual chicano park celebration and car show. 

was supposed to have sold out within two days, but since it had rained the night before, and was supposed to rain at some point saturday, there was a big empty space on the front lawn, where there is usually wall-to-wall cars. they tried to disguise it by making a circle of vendors in the empty space, but still...

still there were many, many cars, enough to keep me in my happy place.

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it's getting late, and i gotta get up early, so i'll just stop here for now, and continue on my next post.

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and it didn't rain during the show after all...

needle in the haystack

saw this impala on my way out of the swap meet. i was wading my way through the sale stuff, the junkers, the beaters, the project recyclers, so many odds and ends. frequently find the occasional gem in this lot. i figure they got there too late or otherwise didn't want to pay the show price, but still wanted to be part of the pomona experience.

spotted this one from two rows away. got over to it and set up, and waited to get my shots in between other admirers of the car. it was next to a pop up, so it somewhat limited the angle--to try to not show it.

did not realize the owner was waiting to leave, until i'd already taken a few sets. so thanks for that. totally forgot to shoot the front; no matter, it's the back end of these that i like best anyway. and pinstriping was pretty cool too.

reboot

been in seattle for a week. this time a planned vacation. and it was good and needed. didn't care that it rained half the time. weather was perfect the last few days.

flight home was delayed for several hours. something about the previous flight out of lax having to have their onboard computer rebooted. at least sea-tac airport is a really nice place to kill time. lots of shops and dining to choose from. clean and modern. so why the hell is every other airport i've been to, so much better than that crap airport, lax? fix it already.

also thought how it is sort of a small death, preparing for vacation. tying up loose ends, letting things go. giving jobs away to the others. hoping they don't realize they can get by just fine without me, but that they will still be glad to have me back.

i know tomorrow will be a big pain in the ass, going back to the office. it's always the worst part of vacation, and why i put off taking one at all. time out of the office throughs me off, even if its in a good way. like being deprogrammed and being put offline. reboot.

oh, and i'm not going to bore you with my vacation pics. you can find a few on flickr or instagram, if you really must, but they don't belong here. only old car i saw all week was the tail end of a pontiac in the rain, and i didn't have a camera out, so...

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got up and went to pomona this morning, just for a few hours. easy to do. wandered around the show cars, found a few interesting cars in the sale area.

i'll put this truck up, since the owner talked to me. i liked the paint color. plain and simple.

roosevelt for president

saw this car toward the end of the day at the azalea festival. found my better half there, already chatting up the owner.

if i remember correctly [better half can correct me if i'm wrong], he'd bought the car from some really old guy he knew. so old, there was a roosevelt for president sticker on the window. can't remember if it was just stashed in a garage for years before it was sold, but wow.

i think he said he fixed the car up, got it running again. said he took back to visit the really old guy, who was so happy to see that the sticker had been kept in place on the window. after so many years, it just belongs there.

maybe

only shot i took of this chevy at this show. was just too crammed in between the other cars. but i told the owner i'd post something.

the owner, if i remember the right car, wandered over to inquire who i was shooting for; usual response, for fun. if it's the right guy and right car, he was also asking about getting a picture of his wife with the car, to hang in the garage. hmmm. people. i will once in a while, take a shot with someone and their car, but that does push my comfort zone a bit. but i can understand a guy wanting a picture of the things he loves. and it is good to get uncomfortable once in a while, out of my shell.

"sure, where is she," i asked. she wasn't there...at home, sleeping in late. just down the street a bit. oh well. what fun is that? maybe some other time. maybe next year.

peep show

happy easter or passover or whatever.

now pretend like that didn't happen and look at this:

i had already packed up my camera, and was just watching my better half shoot this car. testing out a new camera and lens, he was just having fun. i was standing in the shade, so whatevs.

then a '39 master deluxe drove by, and asked my better half if it was too late. he said of course not, and went off to follow that car to a parking space.

so damn. i stood around for about five minutes, saying i won't, i won't, i won't [on the inside]. it was hot, i was hungry, and just done.

then i lost the inner argument, and got my camera back out. might as well, i'm just standing there waiting.

super shiny and perfect. almost wanted to kick it, like stomping on the feet of a kid with the brand new white shoes.

then, of course, i had to go shoot that '39 too. i'm not stupid.

barney

saw this thirty-eight in chino. kinda beat up. kinda awesome.

owner said it was found in a barn in ohio. he bought it recently, for what seems like a real deal, considering that it basically was still running as found. eventually, he plans on fixing it up, but i really hope not. liking it as he found it.

bullet

we go uptown a lot. there are lots of flyers posted on shop windows, so when we pass one that's advertising a car show, we make a note of it.

saw several posted in various places for the usuals' "chinga las vegas" get together over at legg lake. knowing the kind of cars in the club, i knew the kind of cars that would show up.

my better half was waiting for a call to go into the office, so i didn't think he'd be able to go. when i finally got moving and decided to head over, he decided he would go with, as long as i could bring him back home if he got called. i was also thinking i could just drop him off and keep on going over to the latin gents show.

we stayed at the show for a couple of hours, then had lunch. by the time we got home, we decided to stay put. if we'd headed to westminster, there would have been only about an hour left of the other show, so maybe next month.

apparently, the show was unsanctioned, or they didn't pull a permit, and the cops were keeping a close eye, and sometimes just harassing the guys. were being picky about how some cars were parked, and not others.

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saw this beater drive through the show, as we were heading back to the car. noticed it had a bunch of real bullet holes in the trunk, not those stupid stickers.

my better half got the story from the owner. so second-hand, and knowing he isn't going to post his pics any time soon, i'll put mine up.

owner told him he'd seen it from the freeway, in someone's yard. i guess he somehow convinced them to sell it to him. it wasn't running, so he'd had to rebuild some parts of the engine. he'd only had it out and driveable last week. he said he was intending to fix it up, but that everyone is telling him it's too cool and that he should leave it alone. i sort of agree.

did not get the story of the bullet holes, so just make up a story.

i don't know whether he'll continue to work on it, but it is really cool right now.

special

saw this buick on the edge of the grass, by some vendor booths, in chino. didn't remember seeing another one, so set up to take a shot of it.

owner turned out to be one of the dead sled guys. i think he said he recently bought this car. told him i didn't think this would be considered a sled-type car. what do i know.

had a cracked window, which i only noticed when the owner started talking with some other guy about getting new glass for it. that guy said he could get the glass, but that he doesn't do installation. what's up with that?

i like the front chrome on this.

begin at the end

slept in on sunday, and arrived at the unidos show just about eleven. i walked through the show first, around the outer perimeter of the lot, and around to the other parking area. usually where i end, is where i began shooting. figured it was going to only getter hotter, and by the time i got around to finishing, it would be closer to the car and it’s air conditioning.

chatted with a few guys from the bomb club over there. i’ll post those soon.

had to stop and take a water break, after having to figure out which stall was selling the refreshments. really dude, put up a sign. had to ask one of the food vendors where the drinks were hiding. only obvious drink vendor just sold horchata and that type of stuff, when i only wanted a bottle of water. sat under a canopy at a lunch table. so much cooler in the shade, and with a breeze.
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spent about fifteen minutes talking to the owner of this car and his friend. usual chit chat about my hobby. then about another female photographer from the early fifties, vivian maier and her street photography. then about the heat and where i got my hat, which led to talk about chicano park and san pedro car shows, neither of which these guys had been to. ever. go, baby. go.

interesting guys. hope he likes this picture.